Sunday, August 23, 2015

Slow Saturday Special: Trump to Be Assassinated?

Republican front-runner Donald Trump on Friday joked, ‘‘I know how Billy Graham felt’’ as he addressed the largest crowd yet of his thriving presidential campaign.I'm not considering such a thing one, as I will explain as we go along.

‘‘I would like to have the election tomorrow,’’ Trump crowed. ‘‘I don’t want to wait.’’

Trump evoked Graham, the evangelist who packed stadiums around the world, as he brought his message to the Deep South. The 40,000-seat Ladd-Peebles Stadium was about half-full as he spoke.

Trump was welcomed by an array of Alabama politicians, including Republican Senator Jeff Sessions, who praised him for the attention he’s drawn to immigration issues. And Trump led off his speech with more criticism of immigrants living in the country illegally, drawing loud cheers when he repeated his promise to build a wall on the US-Mexico border.

He reiterated his intention to end ‘‘birthright citizenship’’ for children of immigrants here illegally.

And he promised to ‘‘repeal and replace’’ President Obama’s signature health care law.

Before Trump arrived, his fans — some with signs, others wearing T-shirts supporting the billionaire businessman — spoke of his outsider status in a crowded field dominated by professional politicians as the song ‘‘Sweet Home Alabama’’ blared from loudspeakers.He is taping into the tremendous discontent out in real America. In no way is that an endorsement of him.

‘‘Donald Trump is telling the truth and people don’t always like that,’’ said Donald Kidd, 73, a retired welder from Mobile. ‘‘He is like George Wallace — he told the truth.’’ Wallace, a fierce opponent of civil rights, was a governor of Alabama and presidential candidate.First RED FLAG! You know what cut his bid short in 1972, right?

Republican rival Jeb Bush’s campaign e-mailed thousands of supporters in Alabama on Friday, denouncing Trump’s positions. It said Trump favors partial-birth abortions, supports restrictions on gun rights, and backs laws that infringe on states’ land rights. ‘‘Trump’s positions are deeply out of step with the Alabama way of life,’’ the Bush campaign said.

Only when the Republican presidential candidate wrapped up his 20-minute speech by calling for a military buildup did the more than 3,000 conservatives from across the nation join in a sustained cheer for Bush, a familiar face in US politics but a newcomer in front of the Tea Party crowd.

‘‘I promise you, if I’m elected president of the United States, I will restore the traditional role of the United States as a leader for peace and security,’’ Bush said at the annual summit of Americans for Prosperity.That's code for more wars, and we don't need those.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Senator Ted Cruz of Texas was the hands-down favorite of an Americans for Prosperity gathering this weekend, if the number and volume of ovations during the speeches of five presidential candidates who addressed the summit of Tea Party activists was the measure.I predict it will not translate to votes.

At the other end of the spectrum was former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, a newcomer to events financed by conservative industrialists Charles and David Koch.

Bush was attending his first national conference of Americans for Prosperity and was greeted with respectful but restrained applause by a group that rose essentially out of Republican dissatisfaction with federal spending under his brother, President George W. Bush.

Cruz, the Tea Party favorite since his 2010 election, sparked deafening cheers in the Columbus Convention Center auditorium even before he took the stage.

During his speech Saturday, he went on to promise to ‘‘repeal every word of Obamacare,’’ and “rip to shreds this catastrophic Iranian nuclear deal.’’

Each of Cruz’s lines was met with applause and cheers from the more than 3,000 activists. Bush, who spoke a day earlier, worked hard but earned far fewer cheers from the antitax, economic conservative audience from around the country.

David White of Marietta, Ohio, was unimpressed with Bush. ‘‘He did not articulate any plan for what he intends to do as president,’’ he said. ‘‘He used his time to try and rearrange perception of his record in Florida.’’

Bush did stress his experience during eight years as Florida governor, noting tax cuts, reduction in the state government workforce, and an overhaul in the state’s education system.

Cruz, on the other hand, laid out an agenda that consisted entirely of undoing actions taken by President Obama.

The event is significant because it provides an opportunity for presidential hopefuls to impress the conservative group, which spent more than $30 million in ads against Obama’s reelection in 2012 and has activists, donors, and organizers in 36 states and an operating budget for 2016 of roughly $125 million.

Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who can trace his 2010 Senate election to Tea Party support, received hearty cheers, but less robust than Cruz, while taking a more policy-focused approach than Cruz’s more political stump speech.That's where the print cut off the speech, and you see the pecking order.

‘‘The first thing we must do is become globally competitive again,’’ Rubio said. ‘‘That’s why we talk about tax reform. That’s why we talk about regulatory reform.’’The two-day conference was also an opportunity for exposure for lesser-known candidates such as Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and former Texas Governor Rick Perry, who rank low in national polls among the field of 17 candidates.

ATLANTA — Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush said Tuesday that the government should have broad surveillance powers of Americans and private technology firms should cooperate better with intelligence agencies to help combat ‘‘evildoers.’’He's sounding more like his goddamn brother every day!

At a national security forum in the early voting state of South Carolina, Bush put himself at odds with Republicans who earlier this year voted to end the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of phone records.

The former Florida governor said Congress should revisit its changes to the Patriot Act, and he dismissed concerns from civil libertarians who say the program violated citizens’ constitutionally protected privacy rights.

‘‘There’s a place to find common ground between personal civil liberties and NSA doing its job,’’ Bush said. ‘‘I think the balance has actually gone the wrong way.’’

Bush also said the United States should send more troops — he didn’t say how many — and equipment to Eastern European nations in response to Russia’s increasingly aggressive posture in the region. He said Russian President Vladimir Putin should know that his ‘‘adventurism’’ comes with ‘‘a price to pay.’’He wants WAR with RUSSIA?!! Forget that!

‘‘Rather than reacting to the bad behavior, I think we need to be more forward-leaning as it relates to what the consequences will be,’’ Bush said.We've seen what "preemptive" Bushes do. No thanks.

The remarks were part of Bush’s ongoing efforts to pitch an aggressive foreign policy as he struggles to break out of a crowded Republican presidential primary in which businessman and former television reality star Donald Trump has garnered much of the attention.If I wanted that I would vote Graham.

Pushing a hawkish foreign policy is a staple of Republican presidential politics.Same for Democrats, it seems.

The exception is Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, and even the libertarian-leaning senator has refused to take military action off the table as he argues for a reduced American footprint around the world.The power of the Lobby (word is Paul is lost in the corn fields of Iowa).

Yet for Bush, the discussion comes with particular challenges as he tries to distance himself from former president George W. Bush, the candidate’s brother, who signed the Patriot Act into law and oversaw the 2003 invasion of Iraq."He's a hot dog (are what you eat), just like brother.Getting back to Trump, Globe has him already dead:

DERRY, N.H. — What was once flippantly deemed the Summer of Trump has evolved into something much bigger: a singular moment in American political and cultural history.

That New York businessman Donald Trump would even run for president — much less attract double the support of his nearest GOP rival, former Florida governor Jeb Bush — has struck many Republicans as surreal and likely short-lived. But after seven weeks as the Republican front-runner, historians say, Trump has earned a place in the annals of American politics.

More than 30,000 people have signed up to see Trump at his “pep rally” in Alabama on Friday evening, marking the largest crowd yet for a presidential primary campaign this year. It remains unclear whether Trump will remain the GOP front-runner for president or become this cycle’s version of third-party presidential gadfly.

Either way, Trump’s candidacy will be a moment that today’s voters will have to explain to their grandchildren.

*****************

Trump is the personification of a 21st-century America fascinated by the super rich and obsessed with celebrity, political historians said in interviews.Who are they speaking for, and why do they consider all that crap being forced down our throats as fascination?

In politics, his assets provide massive available financing in a national race where money plays an unprecedented role. A hyper-fast media environment means Trump’s candid comments and jaw-dropping insults permeate Facebook feeds, quickly making him the most-discussed candidate in the field, according to social media analytics.

In addition to demographic changes such as Latino population growth, polling shows an underlying anxiety from a shrinking middle class over pocket-book issues. To gauge the reach of Trump’s words, look no further than Dorchester, where police said two brothers from South Boston attacked a 58-year-old homeless man Wednesday because he was Hispanic. One of the men said he was inspired by Trump, allegedly telling police, “Donald Trump was right, all of these illegals need to be deported.”See: Trump calls Boston attack on immigrant ‘terrible’Drunken Red Sox fans the Leaders of hate?

Trump’s comments, like calling some illegal immigrants rapists and murderers, offend many. But his message — a promise to “Make America Great Again!” — is resonating, judging by his position in the polls and the throngs of people who come to see him. When he talks about building a secure fence along the Mexican border — an edifice he hopes they will someday call “The Trump Wall” — the crowds cheer him.

When he took to the stage Wednesday night in New Hampshire in front of a raucous audience of nearly 1,000 people, Trump declared that “the silent majority is back,” borrowing a line from Richard Nixon’s winning 1968 presidential campaign. Nixon used that term to describe the majority of Americans who do not publicly express their political opinions.I'm not part of that crowd then.

Earlier, when asked by reporters about the state of the Republican presidential race, he said his Republican rivals in polls are “going up and down like yo-yos. But I’ve been up there for a long time, and I hope I’m going to be up there for a long time.”

“The only thing constant is Trump,” he told the press.

Polls show Trump leading the Republican field nationally as well as in the early presidential nominating states of Iowa and New Hampshire. A CNN/ORC poll released last week showed Trump with an 11-percentage-point lead over former Florida governor Jeb Bush, who many Republicans considered to be the front-runner earlier this year. In New Hampshire, a recent survey showed Trump leading Bush by 5 percentage points.And believe it or not, he's winning in Massachusetts as well.

Also in the CNN poll, Trump trails the Democratic front-runner, Hillary Rodham Clinton, by 6 points among registered voters in a hypothetical national matchup. (Other recent polling shows Clinton with double-digit leads over Trump in the swing states of Ohio, Florida, and Pennsylvania.)How does he do against Biden?

More problematic for Trump: 59 percent of respondents in the CNN poll said they have an unfavorable view of him. That might be a problem for him if he is the nominee — or even if he isn’t. Trump has suggested that he could run as a third-party candidate if he does not win the GOP nomination.

Daniel T. Rodgers, a historian at Princeton University, said future historians will probably view Trump as one in a long line of third-party candidates. But, he added, Trump is different from past third-party candidates like socialist Eugene V. Debs in 1912, segregationist George Wallace in 1968, deficit-fighter Ross Perot in 1992, or consumer advocate Ralph Nader in 2000.Now Trump is a spoiler.

Trump can dig deep into his own wealth to fund his campaign, Rodgers said.So did Perot.

************

Others see Trump among many populist politicians who use showmanship to appeal to middle America’s anxiety, much like former Louisiana governor Huey Long, who tapped into that unease during the Great Depression. Long was assassinated in 1935, a month after launching his presidential bid.All right, that does it!!!! First Wallace, now Long. What kind of message is the Globe sending Trump, 'eh? Look out?

Richard D. White, who wrote “Kingfish: The Reign of Huey P. Long,” says he sees several similarities between Long and Trump.

“[Long] spoke so directly to the people, and that is Donald Trump’s appeal. It is a purely personal relationship with his listeners. It is not based on factual issues,” said White, who also noted similarities in how both candidates dress in flamboyant suits and use fiery rhetoric toward minorities. “The oversimplification of issues is very dangerous and when you combine that with negativity and fear, the combination is classic populism.”He rambles and talks like we would sitting around talking to each other, and before continuing, I would just like to say I HOPE the DONALD has a GREAT SECURITY DETAIL!! Please check the campaign aircraft thoroughly.I mean, this is DISGUSTING, readers. It's a VEILED THREAT at the guy! Of course, all the negativity and fear is great when constructing a tyranny or leading people off to war based on lies.

Who knows how long Trump will continue to dominate polls and headlines, but this moment is important, according to Jill Lepore, an American history professor at Harvard University.

“If Trump dropped out of the race tomorrow, his run — his intense appeal, even if it turns out to have been brief — would still be worth reckoning with, as a matter of history,” said Lepore.

You see? He's already history.

--more--"There are two, maybe three schools of thought regarding Trump. There is the one that posits that he is a Clinton operative, sent to shatter the Republican Party, and that may well be. Another claims he is an unblackmailable threat, and that is always a concern regarding an individually rich man who can't be bought by lobbyists (like JFK) no matter what they say. A third is the conventional narrative above, that he is tapping into the vein of discontent in this country, and that is also true.Time to go toe-to-toe with Bush:
"At separate N.H. events, it’s Jeb Bush vs. Donald Trump" by James Pindell Globe Staff August 19, 2015

DERRY, N.H. – It has come to this: Republican presidential candidates Jeb Bush and Donald Trump holding dueling New Hampshire town hall meetings just nine miles apart — but with their words aimed squarely at each other.

For Bush, it was a quaint town hall meeting with about 150 people at the same Merrimack VFW hall where scores of presidential candidates have stumped in the state’s historic primary — from former president Bill Clinton to most recently Texas US Senator Ted Cruz.

For Trump, well, even he admits that very little is typical about his campaign for president, especially his first ever town hall meeting as a candidate.

“I am supposed to do a town hall. Well, I didn’t know 2,500 people in a theatre counts as a town hall, but I will give it a try,” Trump said.Unless he is buying flash mob crowds....

While town meetings are expected to be free-wheeling encounters between voters and the candidates, it was 35 minutes before Trump finished answering his first question.He does like to ramble. The notes are there, but he's not using them. Fiddles with them in the natural flow of things, that's all.

The theatre at the Pinkerton Academy has just a 900 person capacity, but there were at least another few hundred waiting for him in an overflow room where he took another five questions.I'm surprised the fire department didn't cite the place.

Back in Merrimack, Bush, who is in second place in New Hampshire and national polls of the Republican race, took a shot at Trump, the race’s front-runner.

“Mr. Trump doesn’t have a proven conservative record. He was a Democrat longer in the last decade than he was a Republican,” Bush said.So what? Chafee -- what do you mean who -- is running as a Democrat.

Meanwhile in Derry, Trump told the audience, “You know what is happening at Jeb’s town hall down the street? They are sleeping.”

Later when an audience member yelled that “Jeb has sunk to the bottom of [Lake] Winnipesaukee,” Trump responded with a smile, “Oh, these are my people.”

Bush and Trump were not the only Republicans meeting with New Hampshire voters on Wednesday.There are more?

While Trump’s remarks were run live on cable news, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s town hall in New Boston ran on C-SPAN. For Christie, the issues the Republican addressed included sanctuary cities, Obamacare, ISIS, Iran and fellow Garden State resident, Bruce Springsteen.

Also in the state on Wednesday was Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker who held his first town hall meeting in Barrington.Forgotten, now only a blip after a hot start.

Trump supporters began lining up outside the event 2 ½ hours before the meeting was scheduled to start.

Many were like Dave Cronin and Diana Day, who are retired and live about an hour away in Dover.

Neither of them had attended a political event in years, but they wanted to see Trump.

LONDONDERRY, N.H. — The high school gym where six Republican presidential candidates participated in an education policy summit was sweltering, but the real heat came when they talked about teachers unions.

Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey said again they deserve “a punch in the face.”Doesn't that disqualify him for president, or is it okay to bully teachers?

Former governor Jeb Bush of Florida said unions were the problem with education, and they negotiated “like it was the 1950s.”My propaganda pre$$ reads like it, too.

Governor John Kasich of Ohio said if he were “King of America,” he “would abolish all teacher’s lounges, where they sit together and worry about ‘woe is us.’ ”I can see that in Bo$ton, but he's really showing dictatorial tendencies.

The daylong forum was sponsored by two organizations, American Federation for Children, which advocates for school choice, and The Seventy Four, a new group led by former CNN anchor Campbell Brown, who is also a supporter of that cause.

Brown interviewed candidates on stage for 45 minutes each on how they would improve education as president, their opinion of the Common Core educational standards, and who advised them on education policy.

Jindal initially supported Common Core but is now suing the US government over the standards. Fiorina advocated for less federal involvement in education, saying, “When Washington spends more money, the quality of education in this nation does not improve.”That get you fired up?

Walker told the crowd that his bid to end public-sector collective bargaining in Wisconsin, an effort that sparked mass protests and a recall election, “was really about education reform.”

The American Federation of Teachers, one of the country’s largest teachers’ union, endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton in July.

“America’s students cannot afford a president who sees teachers as the enemy,” said Laura Hainey, president of AFT-New Hampshire.

Candidates discuss education on the campaign trail, but not as frequently as the economy, immigration, or health care. When they do talk about education, hopefuls in the large Republican field — 17 candidates — typically debate the merits of Common Core.

Democrats, meanwhile, have often emphasized increased funding for early-childhood education. Clinton, one of five Democrats seeking her party’s nod, has called for access to high-quality pre- kindergarten for all 4-year-olds within the next 10 years.

Donnie Wahlberg likes Carly FiorinaSo did I until I found out her good friend was Bibi Netanyahoo, and besides, I'm tired of celebrity politics and picking one or two issues out of a campaign like kernels of corn out of a turd.

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